Fall is usually the time of year when huge flocks of crows start flying in at dusk from the
surrounding agricultural reserve to communal roosting areas in Rockville and Gaithersburg.
There used to be a big patch of trees near Montrose Road and Jefferson Lane where they'd
congregate; when a lot of that patch was cut down for development, they moved over to
White Flint Mall. The yuppie shoppers were NOT happy about having their Lexuses and
Mercedes and BMWs covered with crow droppings - White Flint tried to use noise to drive
the crows away, without much success.
The size of the crow flocks dropped off dramatically when West Nile virus first hit, and
further development has cut down more stands of trees for them to roost in, but I think the
crows are bouncing back. I actually love driving up Rockville Pike at dusk, looking at the
ominous clouds of crows against the sunset sky, flying in, perching, nodding and bobbing
and cawing to one another. It's a reminder that, even with all the development in
Montgomery County, we're still part of a natural cycle!
Mary LaMarca
Silver Spring